He has also opened restaurants within five-star hotels in Asia, including at the Carlton and St Regis hotels in Singapore – which have one Michelin star apiece – and at the Palace Hotel, Tokyo.
Sushi Kanesaka at 45 Park Lane in Mayfair is Kanesaka’s first restaurant outside Asia, and I am visiting during the soft launch before its official opening on July 1.
The London establishment seats just nine at the main counter, as well as four in an adjacent private dining room. An omakase (chef’s selection) menu of around 18 courses will be offered at two dinner sittings from Tuesdays to Saturdays at the set price of £420 (US$535). Paired sake to accompany the dishes will cost a further £150 to £220.5 of the best Japanese inns to stay at that marry tradition and modernity
Until now, London’s most expensive set menu has been that at The Araki – another branch of which can be found in Hong Kong – at £310 per head for the sushi omakase, according to UK restaurant guide Harden’s.
Overall, the most expensive in Britain was at Ynyshir, a restaurant with guest rooms in mid-Wales that serves a tasting menu with Japanese, Chinese and Thai influences for £375 per head, according to the 2023 edition of Harden’s.
Core ingredients such as wasabi and rice will be shipped from Japan – Kanesaka has his own blend of rice from Yamagata prefecture – while fish and shellfish will be sourced from within Europe and will include Cornish crab and Scottish lobster.
All fish will be killed using the ikejime method – a spike to the brain and other speedy actions to prevent reflexes producing lactic acid and ammonia in the dying creature – to ensure high food quality.
From their seats at the counter – carved from a solid piece of Japanese cypress, as in Kanesaka’s other outlets – diners will be treated to the artful performance of the shokunin (apprentices) crafting dishes before each creation is carefully presented before them in succession.
The pale woods of the restaurant interior, simple but stylish, will be familiar to diners who have eaten at other Kanesaka restaurants. Wooden panels featuring designs inspired by Hyde Park, opposite the hotel on the other side of Park Lane, are a subtle reminder of this one’s location.
The personable Kanesaka has been in London preparing with his team of chefs, sommeliers and hosts for the launch and will spend periods in the kitchen at 45 Park Lane three or four times a year. The eight-strong London team was mostly recruited from Kanesaka’s existing restaurants.
The sushi artisan says he has chosen the British capital for his first restaurant in Europe since “London is recognised world over as the epicentre of high-end dining”.
He also points to the attraction of 45 Park Lane, and the Dorchester Collection of hotels to which it belongs, having a stable of internationally renowned chefs and Michelin- star restaurants. 45 Park Lane is home to Cut by Wolfgang Puck – the US-based celebrity chef’s first restaurant in Europe – while sister hotel The Dorchester, next door, houses the three-Michelin-star Alain Ducasse restaurant.While Kanesaka is opening his first outpost in Europe, the Dorchester Collection, which also has hotels in France, Italy and the United States, has announced plans for its first hotel in Asia. In Tokyo’s Torch Tower, the tallest building in Japan, the hotel is slated to open in 2028.
